


Ace In The Hand

by Novaviis



Series: Watercolour [11]
Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Developing Relationship, Injury Recovery, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mission Fic, Protectiveness, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-14
Updated: 2019-05-16
Packaged: 2020-03-04 21:33:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18821158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Novaviis/pseuds/Novaviis
Summary: After spending over a month in recovery, the Boy Wonder is restless. A mission to take down the Royal Flush Gang arises, and Dick feels that he is more than ready to get back out onto the field.Wally couldn't disagree more.





	1. All In

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be a quick little oneshot. 
> 
> I guess you could say things got.... out of hand aaayyyeeee.

 

Wally pressed his back against the wall. Water dripping from the damp arch of the ceiling and hitting the damp floor echoed through the tunnel. Each drop sounded more like a gunshot going off in the deafening quiet of the tunnel. Wally exhaled slowly, feeling the raw energy building up inside him, waiting for release. Through his goggles, he could just barely see the infrared outline of Raquel just further down the tunnel. She gave him a thumbs up, which he returned before lifting his hand to his ear piece. “Rocket and I are in position,” he whispered into the communicator.

“As am I,” Kaldur’ahm reported. Though Wally couldn’t see him (not that he could see much of anything in the pitch black dark), he knew that Kaldur was situated past a crossroads in the tunnel, in a reservoir connected to the Las Vegas City water treatment plant. “Artemis, Zatanna, are you ready?”

“Just waiting for our guests to arrive,” Zatanna replied.

 _“Good.”_ The voice that rang through the communicators had a distant tone, a remote signal distorted slightly with white noise. The walls of the tunnel were thick enough on their own, but they were already almost a mile underground. The broadcast was strong, but not without interference. _“Kid Flash, six paces toward Rocket and one to your left,”_ Dick’s voice came through, crackling over the comm. _“Plant the marker the-.”_

 _“One to the left and seven forward,”_ a girl’s voice cut in. She was further away from the other end of the line at first, but seemed to be walking closer to the microphone as she spoke _. “You’re not calculating the density of the foundations right. You need to factor in its age. The marker will be off by a foot.”_

 _“I calculated it just fine,”_ Dick bit back. _“None of that matters, the radius of the explosion will be enough to cave it in either way.”_

_“I’m just saying! Your blueprints of the Casino don’t match up right on your digital model. You’re sacrificing accuracy for speedy efficiency in the program you’re running.”_

_“I’d like to see you do better!”_

_“Bet I would!”_

There was a muffled sound of struggling followed by bickering and laughter before Dick spoke clearly again. _“Sorry, the newbie over here’s being a pain. Just do what she said and spare me the headache.”_

Wally nodded (remembering only afterwards that no one could see him anyway), before taking the measured steps forward. Kneeling down on the damp concrete, he slipped a thin strip of reflective metal out of the compartment in his right glove. Peeling the backing off, he stuck it to the ground, and quickly returned to his former position. From there, he could just barely see the strip’s iridescent glow. “Marker’s planted,” he reported back. When no reply came through the light static of the comm, Wally frowned and tried again. “Robin?”

Having a telepathic Martian on the team at the moment would have been really handy, Wally found himself thinking as he struggled to hear his boyfriend’s voice through the white noise. Conner and M’gann, however, had exams coming up and were taking some time this weekend to study - read: make out on the couch when Red Tornado wasn’t looking. So, they were left to reply on their communicators for the mission tonight. Dick had been running surveillance and information from the Batcave lately, since he was still on “sabbatical”. Serving as glorified Tech Support hadn’t been sitting well with the stir-crazy young vigilante, but he did it well, and it was a position they sorely needed tonight - if only they could get through to him.

 _“Hello?...I..... there....”_ the signal went quiet before the static cleared again, _“...cut out for a minute. The Royal Flush Gang are on their way in through the Fremont Street sewer. Security in the Casino upstairs has been notified, and they’re evacuating the floors directly above and around the break-in site as inconspicuously as possible before moving to the rest of the building. The Gang is already underground, so they should have no clue what’s happening.”_

“And if they get suspicious?” Raquel questioned.

 _“Hey, that’s what you guys are there for,”_ Wally could practically hear the grin in Dick’s voice. _“They’re through the wall outside the vault. Artemis, Zatanna, you’re up.”_

 _“_ Copy that,” Artemis replied. Total silence followed her voice, until a distant explosion rocked through the foundations of the Casino. Show time, right on schedule.

Once again, Wally pressed back against the wall, feeling the grit of the bricks catch at his hair and the fabric of his suit. He strained to hear what was happening beyond the tunnels walls, but couldn’t hear much other than low rumbles and muted voices. Every other sound in the dark was heightened, and although he knew it was irrational, there was that instinctual little fear gnawing at the back of his mind that some hand was going to reach out of the darkness and grab him. He exhaled through his nose and forced himself to focus.

 _“Incoming_ ,” Dick’s voice nearly made him jump.

It was a welcome warning though. Wally and Raquel just barely had enough time to brace themselves before another explosion blew a hole through the wall between them. Stone and dust went flying in every direction, light flooding in from the room beyond and illuminating the tunnel. Wally blinked, cursing under his breath as he struggle to clear his vision. He pushed the goggles off his face, blinking through the disorienting light until he could see again. The Royal Flush Gang were just coming out of the hole they’d made, intent on making their planned escape through the tunnels. Beyond the hole in the wall, Wally could just barely see the forms of Zatanna and Artemis, lying on the ground in defeat. Though he knew it was part of their own plan, he couldn’t help the moment of worry that wound its way around his chest, before he saw them discreetly begin to pick themselves up. Raquel moved out of the shadows on the other side of the tunnel. Wally followed suit, racing out and skidding to a stop in plain view of the Gang.

Realizing they were surrounded, the King, Queen, Jack, and Ten of the Gang all crowded together, drawing out their guns and pointed them at either young vigilante. “Shit!” Jack shouted. “The little bastards had us bluffed!”

Wally grinned, despite that split second of twisting in his gut when he saw the guns. He slid his right food back in a wider stance. “Do you guys really want to Bet the Pot on this one?”

_“Kid, now!”_

With Dick’s voice still ringing in his ear, Wally took off running. He barreled straight toward the gang, dropping down to his knees as he skidded beneath King’s arm and snatched the bags of money out of his hand. As he turned with the momentum and jumped to his feet, he grabbed the similar bag from Queen. Throwing both over his shoulder, he ran off, skidding to a stop behind Raquel. The world slowed down, time catching up with him. The Royal Flush Gang was left scrambling in confusion, barely able to process what had just happened before Wally grinned and dropped both bags to the ground at his feet. “Looking for these?”

Ten made a lunge toward him with a feral shout. He didn’t get far before Artemis came leaping out of the hole from the safe, leg drawn. She kicked him hard across the jaw, landing in a crouch and lashing out with her bow to uppercut him for good measure. While she covered, Zatanna ran out of the hole and joined Wally behind Raquel. With the Gang in place, Artemis flipped backwards toward her teammates, drawing a trick arrow from her quil and shooting it at the marker on the ground. The moment she landed, the arrow struck the ground, and Raquel summoned a violet, glowing force-field to shield them from the blast. The explosion was controlled, enough to knock the gang off  their feet but not to kill. It was, though, just enough force to blow out the marked weak point in the foundation. Another hole gave away in the floor, leading down into an old, wrought iron safe room from the Prohibition days.

The Team watched from behind the shield as a great roar of rushing water rattled through the tunnels. A massive wave spilled over from the reservoir down the bend in the tunnel. Kaldur’ahm came through in its wake like a torpedo, his tattoos glowing through the distant dark as he guided the water. The force of the wave hit the Gang hard, sweeping them off their feet and finally down into their impromptu prison.

As soon as the water receded, Raquel dropped the barrier, and Zatanna ran out to stand on the edge of the hole. She raised a white gloved hand above the hole, smiling down at the Royal Flush Gang. “Llec elbapacseni na etaerc!” As she spoke the words, the wrought iron walls began to twist and shift, stretching up into long, criss crossing bars. The Gang were left standing too close to one another to move let alone try to escape, glaring up at their teenage captors.

Mission objective completed, the Team congregated in the centre of the tunnel, just over the hole in the floor. “The Authorities will be on their way soon,” Kaldur said as he returned his water bearers to the holsters on his back. “Zatanna, when they arrive, lift the spell so that they may be taken into custody. We will remain on site until they are safely transported and out of our hands. Good work everyone.”

 _“Ask them if they Fold,”_ Dick snickered over their frequency.

Wally shook his head as he raised his hand to his ear. “Uh, no way.”

_“Do it, ask them if they Fold. Do it.”_

“Not a chance.”

 _“Come on,_ babe _. Do it for me.”_

Wally heard his teammates snicker before he even saw them smirking at him. At least Kaldur had the decency to try to keep a straight face. The girls? Not so much. Feeling his cheeks turning red, Wally let out a loud, exasperated groan before walking over to the edge of the hole and crouching down. Despite his attempted frustration, he found himself struggling not to laugh as he grinned down at the captives. “So?” he raised a brow. “Do you Fold?”

King’s eyes narrowed up at him. Even in the limited light spilling in from the Casino’s vault, he could see the absolute death glare twisting the crook’s white panted face. “We. Fold,” he hissed through gritted teeth.

From over the line, Wally could hear Dick laughing. He couldn’t even hold himself back at that point, flooded with warmth at the sound of his boyfriend’s laughter in his ear. He shook his head again, rising up to his feet as he chuckled with him. “That was bad, and you know it.”

 _“That was hilarious,”_ Dick corrected him matter-of-factly.

“I would have gone for the flush joke, personally,” Artemis shrugged as she folded her bow and clipped it to her back.

_“That’s because you go for the easy puns, amateur.”_

“You wanna add a couple more weeks to your sabbatical, Boy Wonder?”

_“Shutting up now.”_

Approaching footfall from within the Casino vault cut off any further banter. The police soon swarmed into the tunnels in force to take their prisoners into custody. After handing over the dufflebags to the nearest Officer and giving his brief statement, Wally stood back and let the authorities handle the rest. He watched with grate satisfaction as Zatanna released her spell, and the Royal Flush Gang was lifted one by one out of the hole and escorted out. Wally followed the rest of the Team back into the Casino, under the florescent lights of the vault, to help with escorting the gang to their transport trucks in case they got any funny ideas.

A series of light beeps over the communicator signaled a change in channels. Wally paused behind the rest of the Team, tilting his head as he listened. _“Wally,”_ Dick began. _“Movie Night? Barb’s over too.”_

Artemis stopped up ahead as the rest of the Team began heading up the dingy stairwell toward the main floor of the Casino, looking back over her shoulder and raising a brow. Wally waved her off before following. “I’ll be there in a Flash, babe”

“ _And you say_ I’m _bad_.”

 

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

 

Wally stepped through the Zetabeam port and into the Batcave an hour later. The familiar glow behind him faded, and he was left standing in front of the port, watching as Barbara flipped and somersaulted her way through a sparring routine. Bruce stood back, in uniform with his cowl pushed back off  his head, arms crossed over his chest as he observed his newest protege. His gaze was cool, calculating as the girl blocked a hit from the training dummy she was fighting against. It was a clumsy little droid, inelegant in design and covered in cracked padding, with a small bulls-eye marking on the back of its crude neck. Despite that, Barbara was still working up a sweat, holding her own but struggling at points to keep up. Alfred was just walking in as Wally was from the Manor entrance, stepping off the elevator lift with a tray of water glasses and what looked like homemade protein bars. Wally caught the look on Alfred’s face when he saw that the young speedster was there, glancing down at the tray and back at him before setting it down on a table beside the training area. Alfred immediately turned back around and headed back up to the Manor with a resigned sigh.

Adjacent to the Zetabeam port, the Batcomputer’s wall of screens were glowing just as bright as ever. There were several windows left open; schematics of the Casino in Las Vegas, floor plans, and a few headlines detailing the recent capture of the Royal Flush Gang. Dick had been sitting in the computer chair before he’d seen Wally. He grinned, pushing out of the chair and walking toward Wally with a light jog. “Wall, hey,” he smiled once he met him. 

“Hey yourself,” Wally grinned as he wrapped an arm around him - and immediately became all too aware that Bruce was in the room. The cat was out of the bag at this point, there was nothing to hide, but as much as he’d like to kiss his boyfriend he also didn’t want to be on the receiving end of the Batglare. Dick didn’t seem to mind at least, perfectly content to hug him back. Wally was careful as he held him, being mindful not to touch his abdomen. Even seeing Dick up and walking around so much was enough to put him on edge. It’d been just over a month now since he was shot, but Wally was still tense to say the least. “How’re you feeling?”

“I’m _feeling_ ,” Dick said pointedly as he stepped back, “like I’m sick of people asking how I’m feeling.” Elbowing Wally lightly in the side, Dick quirked a brow up at him. “I’m fine, dude.”

Wally held his hands up in a show of mock surrender. “Alright, if you say so.”

“I do say so,” Dick retorted as he turned his attention to the training deck. He walked up to the rail, Wally joining him, and leaned against the bar as he watched Barbara spar with the robot. She was growing increasingly frustrated, red tresses falling out of her ponytail and sticking to her face with seat. The robot took a wild swing at her torso, but she managed to block it with her forearms, ducking down to avoid another hit before springing up and flipping forward over it. As she landed, she drew a Batarang from the belt strapped from her shoulder to her waist, turned, and threw - only to miss the bulls-eye by an inch. The droid stuttered, but continued on, giving a mechanical whir as its entire torso turned 180 degrees and advanced on her.

It didn’t get more than a foot forward. Bruce hit a switch on a small control panel at the opposite end of the training deck. “Again,” he commanded.

“You’re pulling back too much before you flip,” Dick called into the ring, hands cupped over his mouth. “You’re trying too hard to build momentum, and killing the momentum that you already have. Roll forward with it, and you’ll get high enough to hit the mark before you land.”

Barbara swiped the hair off her forehead, throwing a glare over her shoulder before taking the glass of water Bruce was holding out for her. She took a long swing and wiped the dribble off the corner of her mouth with her sleeve before turning to Dick again. “I don’t remember inviting the Peanut Gallery to my training.”

“Hey, I didn’t say anything!” Wally tried not to laugh as he defended himself.

“You’re with Boy Blunder,” Barbara pointed at said vigilante. “You’re guilty by association.”

Dick folded his arms on the railing again. “You can pout all you want, I’m still right!”

Setting her glass down on the tray again, Barbara turned back toward Dick with her hands planted on her hips. “I’d like to see you do better!” she shouted up to him.

Dick straightened up. Wally knew a bad idea forming when he saw on. That grin that overtook Dick’s face was evidence enough, but when he saw Dick look down at Bruce with a questioning gaze, it was obvious.

Bruce just eyed him up and down before giving in with a hesitant, “If you’re sure.”

Dick didn’t need to be told more than that. Grin widening, he pushed off the rail and jogged around Wally toward the stairs leading down to the training deck. Wally reached a head out after him, but it was too late to hold his boyfriend back. “Uh, hold on,” Wally laughed nervously as he quickly followed behind. “Is this really a good idea?”

“Relax, Wall,” Dick rolled his eyes, already peeling his black hoodie off and tossing it off to the side. He walked up to Barbara, holding out an expectant hand and raising his eyebrows for good measure. Barbara rolled her eyes before lifting the utility belt over her head and off her shoulder. Taking it with a flourish, Dick draped the belt over his own shoulder. “Watch the Master, Batgirl.”

“Eat dirt, Robin,” Barbara replied.

Not deterred in the slightest by his friend’s snark, Dick took his place in the centre of the training floor. Wally watched from the side, joining Barbara and Bruce. He had to cross his arms just to attempt to hide the way his fists were clenched, knuckles stark white. It’d been nearly two months, Wally told himself. It was fine. Still, that didn’t help relieve much tension as he watched Bruce’s thumb come down on the switch to start up the training routine.

Just as it had done with Barbara minutes ago, the clunky robot came lumbering toward Dick. It was a training robot, and a beginner one at that, but it was still fast, and strong enough to pack a punch. As it took a wild swing, Dick dropped down, rather than block it as Barbara had done moments ago. Only now, as it sensed Dick’s position and swung lower, Dick launched himself up, rolling through the momentum and flipping overtop of the droid. Wally held his breath, watching Dick’s abdomen with paranoid fixation, as if he could see the wound from beneath his shirt - and he could for just a moment, see the white square of bandage plastered over his side. Dick continued through the motion without error though, pulling the Batarang from his belt in mid air and throwing it before he hit the ground. The moment he landed in a crouch, the Batarang hit the mark, sinking several thin prongs into the neck of the droid and letting out an electric current. The droid seized and fell to the ground.

Dick, however, was still kneeling on the ground with his head bowed. With the exercise finished, Wally didn’t restrain himself from running forward in a rush of wind, reaching down to held him to his feet. “Dick? Are you okay?” he asked in one breath.

Taking his hand, Dick let Wally haul him to his feet. “Yeah, I’m perfect,” he said with a light grunt as he stretched himself carefully. “Just a little rusty,” he added. Looking back at the felled robot, he turned a smug grin up to Barbara, slipping the belt off his shoulder and holding it out for her. “And that’s how it’s done, rookie.”

Barbara stuck her tongue out at Dick as swiped the utility belt back.

“That’s it for tonight,” Bruce said as he pushed off from the side of the training ring. He reached back, pulling the cowl on over his head.

“I can keep going,” Barbara argued as she slipped the belt over her head.

“That’s it for tonight,” Bruce repeated.

“Then I’ll come with you on Patrol.”

“Not until you’re finished your training.”

“You see where you’re running your argument into the ground, here?”

Bruce paused only to turn back and glare down at the girl, who simply met his gaze and shrugged to make her point. He didn’t dignify that with a response (if only because he’d probably never get out the door). Turning around again, he headed toward the Batmobile and slid in. The  engine revved, the roar of it echoing off the rugged ceilings of the Cave, as the car shot down the exit tunnel.

Dick watched as the car disappeared and the sound of the engine faded into silence. Wally could see in his gaze alone that he wanted nothing more than to follow Bruce out and return to patrolling the heights of the city, and the subsequent frustration that he was still stuck inside. Wally only wished he felt more sorry for him, that he could be on his side here, but he just couldn’t. The idea of Dick going out there again made his stomach churn. Finally Dick tore his gaze away, leaning against Wally with a light nudge.

“Alright,” he sighed. “I’m gonna take a quick shower. Go ahead and start the movie without me if you want.”

“You pulled _one_ move, and you already broke a sweat?” Wally questioned with a pull in his brow. “Told you it wasn’t a good idea.”

Dick waved him off, already stepping away and heading toward the showers. “I was doing physical therapy earlier. Easy stuff, but it’s repetitive and a pain in the ass. Unless you _want_ to hang out when I’m all smelly and gross.”

“You’re always smelly and gross,” Wally fired back with a forced smile. “Go ahead, then. I’ll meet you in the theatre.”

It was twenty minutes later that Wally found himself lounging across one of the reclining couches in the theatre room, scrolling through his phone while he waited for Dick and Barbara to join him. Barbara had hung back in the Cave for a while after he and Dick departed, with the promise to work a little more on her own before hitting the showers and regrouping in the theatre. That left Wally alone in the dark room, with the blue screen from the projector casting the room in a light indigo glow. The theatre room itself wasn’t exactly a full sized auditorium, but it had a few rows of comfortable lounge chairs and sofas set up on different levels. He’d spend countless sleepovers in here with Dick when they were younger, and although the space was familiar as his own bedroom, it felt oddly... new.

Everything with Dick was still new, but - it all felt so much more raw now. If that even made sense. Wally could hardly make sense of anything himself. They’d only started dating four months ago, and just when they were starting to get over the awkwardness, when they were beginning to feel comfortable with each other, Dick went and got himself shot. Just like that, it had all nearly been ripped away. Wally didn’t even like thinking about that night for too long, because then he’d start thinking of the crack of gunshot, and Dick’s screaming and sobbing, and the blood - yeah, _exactly_ why he didn’t think about it. Thing was, now Wally felt like things were awkward and new in an entirely different sense. He didn’t really know how to handle this, didn’t know how to keep from hovering or fretting every time Dick so much as took a step. He didn’t know what the boundaries were, how to be there for Dick and help him recover without being overbearing. Shit, he barely knew how to talk to Dick about what had happened, or if they should talk about it at all.

Wally’d told himself several times to just think about it as if Dick was still just his best friend, as if that would make things less complicated. But if he and Dick weren’t dating, if they were still just friends... well, Wally knew deep down that he’d feel the same conflicting emotions. Only with pinning stacked on top of that. 

So, in short, this fucking sucked. And he wasn’t even the one that got shot.

“Hey, Speedyboy, move over.”

Torn from his thoughts, Wally dropped his phone on his chest and looked up to see Dick walking toward him from the theatre room door. He held a roll of athletic tape in one hand, a square of gauze plaster, and a small metal tin in the other. Wally pushed himself upright on his elbows, swinging his legs over the edge of the sofa. Dick took the seat next to him. Setting everything down in his lap, Dick pinched the hem of his hoodie underneath his arm, and proceeded to pry the tin open with his resulting T-Rex arms. Wally watched him struggle for about thirty seconds before speaking up. “You, uh, need help there?”

“No, I’ve done it on my own before. I’ve got it,” Dick insisted as he finally popped the top off the tin.

Wally took the tin from him, hit with the wafting, chemical scent of the salve inside. “Hey, just ‘cause you can do it on your own doesn’t mean I can’t help.”

Dick tried to swipe the tin back once, but Wally held it out of his reach. He seemed to debate fighting back for only a moment before giving in. “Suit yourself,” he said as he freed both hands to hold his shirt up. Dick shifted on the sofa cushion so that he was facing Wally, revealing the gruesome scab where the bullet had torn through his skin, a web of broken flesh thickening into scars. Wally had never actually seen it, he realized. And, before he’d realized, he had hesitated too long. Dick started lowering his shirt. “I- sorry, I knew it’d bother you-”

“No,” Wally cut in, wrapping his fingers around Dick’s wrist to stop him. “No, it’s fine. I want to.”

Dick hesitated a moment before finally lifting the hem of his hoodie again. “Alright...”

Wally nodded, meeting Dick’s eyes in a lingering gaze before focusing on the wound. The salve was a new ointment, engineered for rapid healing and minimal scarring. Wally hadn’t seen the wound yet, but he’d made himself familiar with Dick’s treatment during his visits. Swiping a bit onto the tip of his finger, the texture a bit like petroleum jelly, Wally gently smeared it over the wound. Dick tensed, sucking in a harsh breath when it first touched his skin. Wally felt that too-familiar sympathetic twisting in his gut, but continued on to get it over with. Thankfully, the jelly soon after began to warm under his fingertips, and Dick relaxed as relief came with it. Once there was an even coat, Wally took the square plaster and placed it carefully over Dick’s side. His stitches had been taken out two weeks ago now, but the plaster and the tape helped to keep the wound protected, and kept Dick from moving too much and hurting himself (y’know, from something like doing flips over combat robots).

Barbara came waltzing into the room just as Wally finished tying the athletic tape around Dick’s abdomen, carrying a litre of soda and a large bowl of popcorn. She side-eyed Dick, glancing over his bandages, as she dropped into a separate recliner on the level below them. “Wow, I didn’t think “Appendicitis” meant your appendix literally bursts out of your side and runs away.”

“Yeah, it even grew arms and legs. Flipped me off on its way out,” Dick retorted as he adjusted his hoodie over his torso again. “The rest of the school seems to have bought it.”

“Maybe they did, but you sure as hell weren’t fooling me.”

“What, you want an award?”

“I do, in fact.”

Dick kicked up his feet on the top of Barbara’s recliner, wiggling his socked toes by her head. “How about you weasel your way into becoming a vigilante and I share my Mentor with you?”

Barbara reached behind her to shove Dick’s feet away with a disgusted huff. “As if I’ll ever make it onto the field at this rate.”

“You’ve only been training for a few weeks!” Dick laughed. “A few years of gymnastics training and some basic self defense classes does not a Batgirl make. Besides, you think you’re frustrated? You’ve barely gotten a taste of it out there. I’ve been benched for the past month. If I don’t get back out soon, I’m going to start climbing up the walls.”

“Whoa, there’s no rush,” Wally interjected, shifting a bit when Barbara and Dick looked back at him. “You’ll get back out on the field when you’re ready. No need to push things too fast, y’know?” he threw his arm around Dick’s shoulders. Dick tried to hold his frustration, but couldn’t quite seem to keep his grip on it when Wally was being so sweet. He huffed, slumping back against his boyfriend with a pout. Claiming his victory, Wally leaned back on the sofa, and pressed his mouth against the side of Dick’s head. His hair was still damp from the shower, and the scent of his sweet body wash was still fresh. “Right now, the important thing is that you heal. So, don’t be a pain in the ass about it.”

Dick rolled his eyes at the comment, but snuggled back against Wally regardless. “Fine, fine,” he said around a yawn.

“Good,” Wally nodded. He rubbed his hand up and down Dick’s bicep. Dick practically melted against him, head flopping onto Wally’s shoulder. “So,” he called down to Barbara. “What’re we watching?”

Barbara twisted around in her seat to grin up at him. “I was thinking Casino Royale.”

Dick snorted in a poor attempt at not laughing. Wally glared at them. “You’re both the worst.”

In spite of Dick’s talk of restlessness and desire to get back out in the game, he didn’t make it twenty minutes into the movie. Before long, he relaxed against Wally, his breathing evening out. Wally barely paid attention to the movie beyond that point, his focus narrowing down to his boyfriend in the dark room, watching the lights of the projector reflect back on his face. Dick did this a little more often lately, falling asleep the moment he was comfortable. He did it at the Cave the last time he visited, and just about every time Wally saw him since the incident. He had just a little less energy, was bogged down whether it was due to medicine or just his body trying to work on healing. Wally didn’t dare move through out the remainder of the movie. He wanted Dick to get as much rest as he needed.

 

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

 

The week came and passed. Wally went back home, went to school, slaved over homework, and tagged along on patrol with Barry a few times when he could. The thing that sucked about living so far from Dick was that even though they had the means of instant transportation between their cities, they were still in different time zones, had their own lives to deal with and the like. As always, they texted through out the week, called and video chatted when they could. By the time Friday rolled around, all Wally was looking forward to was getting the next mission wrapped up so he could hopefully spare some time to head to Gotham.

Wally stepped through the Zetabeam port and into the main cavern of Mount Justice. Zatanna and Kaldur were already there, waiting underneath the the massive holographic computer. They were already in uniform, waiting for the week’s assignment and chatting to pass the time. The moment Wally appeared, Zatanna broke off from her conversation with Kaldur’ahm, waving the newcomer over.

“Wally!” she called, jogging over to meet him. “Have you heard about the Royal Flush Gang?”

“No,” Wally replied. “Not since we canned them last week. Why, what’s going on?” The two of them walked together back toward Kaldur, who had summoned a small screen from the holocomputer. News footage rolled on the floating window, showing clips of explosions and racing cars through the streets of Las Vegas overlaid with various reporters and headlines.

“The Royal Flush Gang has escaped captivity before they could be transported to a Prison equipped to hold them permanently,” Kaldur reported. “It would appear that they are at large again. No one has seen them since, and this was two days ago.”

“What, and the League just let it happen?” Wally grumbled, folding his arms over his chest. “Well, I can guess what this week’s mission’s gonna be. Clean Up Duty. Great.”

Zatanna shrugged, hand on her hip as she gestured to the clips of the Gang hollering through the windows of their escape car. “Hey, at least it was an easy gig last week. Maybe we’ll even finish up early.”

The conversation didn’t go much further than that. The rest of the team slowly began to congregate in the central chamber of Mount Justice. It started to look like it would be all hands on deck that night, with just about every member of the Team arriving - aside from the obvious exception. Artemis, Raquel, M’gann, and Conner all trickled their way into the cave, either through the deeper halls of the mountain or through the Zetabeam ports. Batman, however, was nowhere to be seen just yet. The Team knew well enough by now that the Dark Knight arrived when he wanted and not a moment later, and so kept themselves busy, either talking or preparing for the night’s task. Wally had just gotten into a debate with Conner over whether Flash could beat Superman in a race (age old debate, and he _totally_ could) when the cave computer announced a new arrival.

_Recognized: Batman 02_

All heads perked up at the digital voice. The Zetabeam whirred to life, light blooming from deep within the tube as its spiraling entrance opened up. Batman’s silhouette stepped out cast in shadow by the stark contrast of the light. Every young hero instantly stood at attention, waiting to receiving their briefing. Batman, however, kept walking, and the Zetabeam began to spin with light again.

_Recognized: Robin B01_

The Team may have exchanged curious and excited glances, but Wally certainly wasn’t looking at them. Dread sank down like a rock in the bit of his gut. He’d only heard that recognition once over the past month, and this time he was pretty certain that Dick wasn’t showing up in civvies and a wheelchair. Still, that didn’t prepare him. Dick stepped out of the port in full Robin uniform. The uniform had changed slightly (after all, the last one had a gaping hole in it now). The design of the uniform was similar, still recognizable as Robin, but the body suit was just a little thicker, a little darker in colour. The torso, especially, was padded with a thicker kevlar, almost like armour. Dick had to switch out uniforms pretty often with how much he grew from year to year, but this was a slightly more drastic change.

Stopping just outside the port, Dick placed his hands on his hips and grinned beneath his mask at his teammates. “Well, what’d I miss?”

“Robin!” M’gann squealed, lifting up off the ground and floating toward him. She stopped just short of throwing her arms around him, though, reeling back and touching down with her hands drawn back. “Oh, wait. I’m sorry, are you still in pain?”

Dick shook his head, laughing as he gave her the hug she’d so clearly wanted. “I’m fine,” he reassured her. “It’s good to see you.”

Dick was met with the rest of the Team once M’gann stopped hogging him, welcomed back by his friends with excitement. Allowing the Team to have their moment, Batman walked to his place in the centre of the holographic pad. “Robin has been cleared for active duty and will be rejoining the Team,” he announced as he took control of the computer’s interface. Maps, profiles of the Royal Flush Gang, and the same news clips Kaldur’ahm had been playing earlier all appeared in translucent blue light. Batman turned to face the Team, silently commanding their attention. The Team gathered in front of Batman.

Wally stayed back from the group, arms crossed and stance firm. Dick, as descretly as possible, hung back and stood next to him, sparing only a few glances to his boyfriend. “Don’t give me that look,” he whispered as his Mentor began his briefing.

“Pushing this a little too far, don’t you think?” Wally hissed back. “This is way too soon for you to be on the field again, and you know it.”

Dick rolled his eyes, obvious annoyance playing across his face even in spite of the mask. “I’ve got clearance from _Batman_ , what else do you want?” he snapped. “I’m _fine._ ”

“And he just let you back in that easy?” Wally raised a brow, unconvinced.

Dick clenched his jaw, snapping his gaze away and rolling his shoulder back. “It’s not a big deal. Just gotta stay out of the big fights. He wants me focusing on recon. It’s bullshit anyway. I can barely _move_ in this stupid uniform, let alone pull off acrobatics. He might as well cover me in bubble-wrap.”

Wally’s glare sharpened. “Do you _seriously_ expect me to take your side here?”

“You’re my boyfriend, Wally. You’re _supposed_ to take my side.”

“Not in this!”

A rough throat clearing snapped both their attentions forward. The rest of the Team was looking back over their shoulders at the two, Batman’s glare towering above them. Arms crossed and jaw set, Batman cocked his head. “Are you two finished?” he grunted. Dick and Wally shifted away from each other, glaring at the ground, both their ears growing hot and their cheeks flushed. Apparently they hadn’t been whispering as quietly as they’d hoped. With the interruption dealt with, Batman directed the Team’s focus back to the mission briefing. “As I was saying,” he began. “Initial recon suggests that the Royal Flush Gang is headed to Atlantic City to meet up with their founder, Amos Fortune.” Batman waved an image of the infamous gangster onto the holographic screen. “Although his involvement in the Royal Flush Gang is common knowledge, authorities have been unable to build a case against him.”

“So,” Conner interject slowly as he caught on, “if we catch the Gang with Amos Fortune, we can take them all down at the same time.”

Batman nodded. With another wave of his hand, a series of windows popped up onto the screen, pinpointing different locations in Atlantic City and their corresponding CCTV feeds. “These are the locations where the Royal Flush Gang are most likely to appear. Your mission is to stake out each of these locations, find the Royal Flush Gang, and take them in.”

The Team was dismissed. The eight of them started toward the hangar, with Dick walking up ahead, smiling and laughing and catching up with the others. Wally, however, hung back a few paces, flipping between nervous and annoyed as he watched his boyfriend. Dick may have gotten clearance to return to the team, but Wally knew for a fact that he was lying about his pain. Even if he was told to stay out of combat, Dick wouldn’t _listen._ Already Wally could feel himself buzzing with anxious energy, building up in his chest. As the Team entered the hangar, and M’gann waved her hand at the Bioship, the martian aircraft shifted an unfolded, lowering a ramp for the young heroes to enter. Wally jogged ahead a bit, grabbing onto Dick’s wrist before his boyfriend could walk inside.

Dick stopped, already three steps onto the ramp. He looked down at Wally from the incline, his eyes thinning dangerously beneath his mask. “Wally...” he began in warning.

“I know,” Wally interrupted. “I know what you’re going to say, and... I’m not gonna stop you from coming, okay? I won’t lie, I don’t like this one bit, but I’m not gonna stop you. Just...” he trailed off, an honest pleading in his tone, “be careful, Dick. Please.”

Dick’s anger fell away before it could rise, his shoulders relaxing, gaze softening. He sighed, a frustrated tightness still lingering in his chest as he turned his wrist in Wally’s hand. He wrapped his fingers around Wally’s forearm, tugging him forward into a kiss. It was short, and uncoordinated, and Wally stumbled into it, but he kissed back as much as he could before Dick was pulling away, their hands still locked. “Okay,” he murmured. A slow smile grew on his lips, as he jerked his head toward the ship. “Now, are you comin’ or what?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part two should be wrapped up in another day or so. I originally wanted to post this as one fic but it got so much longer than I expected, so I ended up splitting it. In the mean time, let me know how you liked part one! 
> 
> [「TUMBLR」](https://novaviis.tumblr.com) [「TWITTER」](https://twitter.com/novaviis)


	2. Wild Card

 

Wally had always been known on the Team for being eager for action. He’d never been one to sit still well. Always one of the first to run straight into the fray, always ready to take on a new challenge. Tonight, however, was one of the few nights Wally could ever remember being _relieved_ that the mission was slow. Where he was normally bored out of his mind, practically begging whatever Rogues they were trying to take down to come out and do something already, this time around Wally was more than happy for a quiet night.

Once the Bioship had taken off, Kaldur had split the Team up into pairs; Artemis and Aqualad, Zatanna and Rocket, Superboy and Robin, Kid Flash and Miss Martian. Each of them were given the task of sweeping two of the locations on Batman’s list, so that in time they’d clear the eight total pins from their map of _wonderful_ Atlantic City. Wally had opened his mouth to protest when Kaldur had announced the line-up, to ask that he be put with Robin for this one, but one sharp look from his boyfriend across the ship had silenced any argument. He really wasn’t trying to make this any more difficult than necessary, but _shit_ it was hard.

So, he focused on the task at hand. Dull at was, he’d take it, pour himself into is so that at the end of the night he could go back to Mount Justice, change out of his suit, and sort things out with Dick. Granted, it was a little difficult to focus when that was all he thought about, but hey, it was something.

Wally raced down the hall, searching corner to corner of the disused space. Floor by floor, he and M’gann were sweeping out the stack of empty apartments above a High End men’s wear retailer. Those that weren’t empty were checked through by M’gann in her invisible form, while Wally went ahead to scout. The last place they’d checked out was the basement of a liquor store that used to be a speakeasy. Before Wally had even made it to the top floor of the building, he knew that this location was going to have a similar end result - nothing.

 _“Miss M,”_ Wally called through the mind link. “ _Find anything yet?”_

M’gann took a moment to reply. _“Aside from the couple in 9D in a disturbingly compromising position? No.”_ Within the next moment, M’gann decloaked in front of him, pulling back her hood with a shiver suggesting that she’d _much_ rather forget everything she saw.

Wally tried not to laugh at the blush crawling up her green cheeks. “You didn’t freak out and give yourself away, did you?” he asked in a low whisper.

“No,” the Martian shook her head. “But I... did bump into their dresser trying to get out. Worst comes to worse. they’ll believe they have a Poltergeist.”

Wally grinned. “Hey, maybe if they think they’re haunted they’ll quit being so nasty-”

M’gann spun around, her cape and hair fluttering in her wake as she turned away from Wally to avoid talking about it further. _“Aqualad,”_ she extended her mind link to the rest of the Team. _“We’re clear, here.”_

 _“Artemis and I have also come up with nothing,”_ Kaldur’s voice drifted through their minds. _“Everyone, report in.”_

Conner was the first to respond. _“The Card Factory was a bust,”_ he grunted through the link.

 _“I’m almost glad. Would’ve been painfully cliche,”_ Dick replied. _“Superboy and I are in the Penthouse at The Borgata. The Royal Flush Gang was definitely here, but they left hours ago.”_ There was a frustrated bite to his tone that Wally could feel resonating through the mind link. _“So far as I can tell, they ran out in a hurry.”_

 _“It isn’t much, but it could be valuable information,”_ Kaldur conceeded, if only to ease Robin’s anger. _“Rocket? Zatanna?”_

It was a moment of silence before either of the girls answered, tension radiating from within the link. _“We may be on to something,”_ Raquel finally responded. _“Zee and I haven’t checked out the second location yet, but we’ve been tailing this car since it left the Yacht Club. We think it might be Fortune.”_

 _“Can you confirm?”_ Kaldur asked.

 _“Not completely. We haven’t been able to get close enough while maintaining cover, and the windows are tinted so we haven’t been able to get a look inside,”_ Zatanna replied.

M’gann frowned, turning toward Wally, eyes glowing emerald in the dark. _“Try concentrating on what you’re seeing. I can project it to the whole Team.”_ The reply came in an image flashing through Wally’s mind as he closed his eyes - a long, black car rolled through dingy side streets, seeming to be headed nowhere in particular. Either that, or it was deliberately trying to be difficult to follow.

 _“That’s his car,”_ Artemis chimed in almost immediately. _“I recognize the license plate. And you see that crack in the bumper? Green Arrow marked it the last time we tried to take him down.”_

 _“Rocket, Zatanna, keep tailing the car,”_ Kaldur snapped into command. _“Miss Martian, return to the Bioship and pick up the rest of us. We will rendezvous and follow Amos Fortune together.”_

 _“Superboy and I are already closer to Zatanna and Rocket than you guys,”_ Dick argued. _“We can meet up with them on foot.”_

_“Very well. Artemis, Miss Martian, Kid Flash, and I will follow shortly.”_

Emerald light fading from her eyes, M’gann looked to Wally and nodded. The two of them made their way to the rooftop of the building out the fire escape, where the cloaked Bioship was waiting for them. Once inside, the indigo and violet lights of the cockpit glowed just a bit brighter, and M’gann took the helm. Wally made his way over to his usual seat. His foot bumped into something discarded on the floor. Catching himself before he stumbled, Wally stooped down and picked up what looked like a piece of thick kelvar. It took a moment for him to connect it to the new outer armour on Dick’s suit. That discovery hit him with the force of a fucking anvil on his head. He hadn’t even _noticed_ Dick removing the pieces of extra kevlar before he’d been deployed with Conner. He should have been paying attention, but stupidly enough, he thought he could trust Dick to value his safety over ease of mobility.

So much for being careful.

“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me...” Wally grumbled under his breath as he threw the kelvar down on the floor and dropped into his seat.

M’gann looked over at him from the helm. “Wally? What’s wrong?”

Wally faced forward as the ship began to rise above the city. He glared down at the grid of lights below. “Nothing.”

 

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

 

The met outside the Boardwalk Hall. The beach was deserted at this late hour, and the winter chill coming off the Atlantic meant no one was outside anyway. Bitterly cold wind and water sprayed off the turbulent ocean, and crashed onto the strip of coarse beach. M’gann cloaked the ship once it landed as an extra percaustion, and they continued on foot to meet up with the others. Wally was silent the entire time, seething with anger - evidently, it showed, because no one bothered him for the length of the short trip. The other half of the Team was waiting for them around the side of the massive complex, at the entrance of what appeared to be the maintenance basement (door obviously kicked in courtesy of Conner.)

“It’s definitely Fortune,” Dick said when they had all regrouped. “We saw him exit the car and head down a different route. It was too risky to follow him down the same way, so I pulled up the schematics of the building. This stairwell will lead us straight down to him.”

“Where we will likely also find the rest of the Royal Flush Gang,” Kaldur nodded. Reaching to the holster on his back, the Atlantean retrieved his water bearers and lead the way down into the subbasement of the grand hall. “Stay alert,” he commanded the team before descending down into the pitch black dark. Zatanna followed after, muttering a spell to cast a dim ball of light into the palm of her hand. One by one, the team followed down the narrow passage, until only Wally and Dick were left.

Wally grabbed Dick’s shoulder before he walk away. “Seriously?” he growled, glancing up and down at his uniform. What had been left under the extra kevlar was identical to his usual uniform. It was already lined with a lightweight armour, and had been enough protection in the past - but already Wally felt like Dick was too exposed. He knew now that it didn’t stand up against a high caliber bullet at close range. 

Dick ripped his shoulder out of Wally’s hold. “It was slowing me down. I could barely move,” he hissed. “Stop fucking _smothering_ me, Wally. You’re not my keeper. I can take care of myself.” Without leaving room for argument, Dick turned and followed the Team down the narrow passage. Wally remained back only for a moment, steeping in his fury, before giving in and doing the same.

The stairway led down deep into the sub-basment of the Boardwalk Hall, far below public access. Even Zatanna’s light was limited in the oppressive darkness. The passage was so thin that they could only walk in single file. Every young hero kept their guard up, knowing fully well that there wasn’t much room to defend themselves in this situation - not that there would be much room to be attacked, either. Finally, at the bottom of the stairwell, the passage opened up into a long, wider hallway. Industrial piping ran along the walls and the ceiling, blowing the occasional puff of steam into the cold air. Even their breaths fogged as they tumbled from their lips. It was still pitch black, with Zatanna’s orb of light guiding the way. They walked, spread out, but close enough that they could see each other in the limited light. Wally slipped his night vision goggles over his eyes, walking up closer to the front of the group.

 _“Superboy,”_ M’gann spoke over the telepathic link, sending her boyfriend a questioning look. _“Can you hear anything? Any sign of them?”_

Conner shook his head. _“Not much,”_ he admitted. _“The walls must be thick down here. I... wait,_ ” he stopped abruptly, haulting the rest of the group with him. They stood in the middle of a cross road, two intersecting hallways stretching on into the dark. Conner went still, closing his eyes in concentration, before his head snapped up to the passage on the left. _“Down there. It’s faint, but I can hear voices.”_

Kaldur nodded, turning to Dick and gesturing to his glove. _“Robin, can you access a map of this level?”_

Bringing his glove up, Dick activated his holographic computer and spent a moment typing on the keypad. The Team crowded around behind him, the blue glow of the interface casting just a touch more light in the dingy corridor. Finally, Dick brought up the layout of the basement. Their position blinked with a little yellow dot at the cross road. _“It looks like there’s a large storage room down that way,”_ he projected through the link as he pointed to a blank room on the map. _“It’s the only space down here that would be big enough to hold any sort of meeting, unless they felt like getting cozy in a broom closet. Aside from air ducts, here’s only one way in or out, though.”_

Raquel stood back, folding her arms as she looked over the map. _“Anyone else starting to get a bad feeling about this?”_

 _“How so?”_ Zatanna asked.

 _“One way in or out?”_ Raquel gestured to the screen. _“And Arty, where were you and GA when he tagged that car?”_

Artemis’  jaw set as she began to catch on. _“Star City. So, why would Fortune just_ happen _to be driving the same car across the country, when he’s probably got safehouses and cars in every major city?”_

 _“Unless he was trying to lead us here,”_ Raquel nodded.

Wally’s shoulders tensed as he walked up to the front of the group, looking to their leader with a low brow. _“I don’t like this.”_

 _“Neither do I,”_ Kaldur conceded. Stepping ahead, he stared down the long, black corridor. _“But we cannot allow Fortune and his Gang to run free.... we must make do. We will not allow them to dictate the terms of this engagement, if they are attempting to lure us into a trap. Miss Martian, Robin, and Zatanna, the three of you will follow in stealth. Remain unseen, scout what you can. Artemis, Kid Flash, you will take up the rear. Supeboy, Rocket, and I will enter first. Our objective is subjugation and capture.”_ With that order, Kaldur walked on ahead.

As the Team followed, Wally lingered behind for a moment. He turned to speak to Dick, to tell him to be careful, but true to form Dick had already vanished from sight. M’gann and Zatanna had done the same already - difference was, Dick didn’t need Martian Biology or “Magic” to pull off a disappearing act. Apparently, wanting to avoid his boyfriend was motivation enough. Reigning in his annoyance for the time being, Wally paired up with Artemis, ignoring her questioning look, and continued on.

Each footstep echoed like a gunshot in the tunnel. Wally was suddenly reminded all too clearly of the last week’s mission, of waiting in the dark beneath the Casino, thinking the same thing - that each drop of water falling sounded louder in the oppressive quiet, like a gunshot. It hadn’t bothered him so much at the time, but then again, Dick hadn’t been here with him. Wally was tense. Even Artemis could tell, the glances she was sending her partner clear enough. Wally just kept his shoulders straight, and his gaze forward at the the backs of Conner, Kaldur, and Raquel.

They made it to the end of the corridor. Dim, grey light spilled out from the cracks around the doorframe, illuminating the end of the hall just enough for Kaldur to be able to look at Conner and give a firm nod. Conner reared back with his fist and punched through the solid metal wall. The moment it bust in, Kaldur and Raquel followed suit. Wally and Artemis remained at the door, close enough that they could see clearly inside, but far enough outside the chamber that they couldn’t be ambushed. Artemis drew an arrow from her quiver and strung it to her bow. Wally slid into a running stance.

The room was massive, two stories tall at least, and lined with rows upon rows of stage equipment, boardwalk stalls, rejected Christmas decorations, and massive, colorful show sets. Standing at the centre of the main aisle was a group of four people dressed in black, white, and red, all sporting the emblem of the Club. King, Queen, Jack, and Ten all faced their young opponents - they had been ready. Waiting.

Kaldur’s tattoos lit up along his arms. “Where is Amos Fortune?” he asked, the strength in his voice echoing off the high ceiling.

“Fortune?” Ten cocked his head. In the glint of light, Wally could just barely see what looked like small electrodes arranged around his head. “Oh, yeah, that guy. Watcha talkin’bout? He was never here.”

Queen tapped her finger against her lip, grinning as she played along with Ten’s game. “Ah, but even if he was, he’d be long, long gone by now. He might have even dropped off a little present.”

Summoning the water from the tank on his back, Kaldur formed an ice sword in each hand. The lights in the storage room were limited to a few dull fluorescents overhead, most of them died out and covered in dust. The swords in his hands seemed to glow. “You are outnumbered,” Kaldur pressed on. “Surrender now, and there will be no need for a fight.”

“Well,” Jack laughed in borderline hysterics. “Would ya look at that! It would seem we really _are_ outnumbered. What do you say to that, King?”

King had remained cool and unfazed through out the interaction.  As he took a single step forward, the three young heroes at the front all tensed, coiled up and prepared for the inevitable brawl. He turned his chin up, glaring down at them with a smug twist in his lip. “These children may have bested us before, Jack,” he said to the other man without looking away from Superboy, Aqualad, and Rocket. “But I am not troubled by their brashness. After all... this time, we have an Ace In The Hand.”

Wally barely had enough time to wish gimmicky villains like these would stop monologuing with puns so damn much before a thunderous, hissing noise echoed through the chamber. With footsteps that shook the concrete floor, a ten foot tall Android, covered in white chrome and branded with the emblem of an Ace of Clubs, came stomping out from behind a row of stage equipment. Following in its wake were nine smaller androids, less elegant in design but still sturdy enough to put up a fight.

Peace Talks were over. Conner ran at the Ace Android, preparing to grapple and take it down, but the Ace caught either of his hands and pushed back. The two powerhouses were locked hand to hand, and despite Conner bearing down and pushing all his strength into this, the Android pushed back. The cement cracked beneath Conner’s boots, and just as Conner tried to leap up and knock it off balance, the Android used its grip on the Superboy’s hands to throw him against the far wall, where he landed with another deafening crack in the concrete.

This thing was no Amazo, but it was still an amaz-ing pain in the ass.

The fight broke out. As the smaller combat androids rushed out from behind the Ace, the Team swept in. Artemis fired her first arrow, a controlled explosion that knocked a wave of them back, but within moments they were righting themselves and rushing forward again. Wally ran into the room and took out three of them, ramming the padding on his shoulders into them like a bowling ball - but once again, just like any human would, the androids recovered and kept going. Two of them were lifted into the air by an unseen force and smashed together, before M’gann shed her invisibility. With a shout of unintelligible, backwards words, Zatanna appeared on the left side of the room, casting a ball of fire from her hand and blasting it at the androids.

Only seconds after, Dick as kicking through a vent in the ceiling and dropping down on his grappling hook. It was a small detail, but one that Wally noticed instantly - normally, he would have just free fallen, using the taller stage sets and structures to kick off and flip his way down safely. The fact that he was opting for his grappling hook instead, steadier but slower, was telling enough. They needed to end this fast.

Wally engaged his speed, watching the world slow down to still-life shot around him. The fight had broken out so quickly he’d hardly had the time to get a good look at what they were dealing with. Nine run-of-the-mill androids, one big Ace-hole, and four desperate crooks who really knew how to stick to a theme. Conner was currently going after the big guy, with M’gann and Zatanna taking on the small army. That left him, Dick, Artemis, and Kaldur to try to reign in the Royals. From the looks of it, Artemis was going for King, Kaldur for Queen, and Dick was currently nowhere to be seen - but neither was Jack. Ten, however, had seemed to retreat to the back of the fight, currently focused on a small device in his hand. The electrodes on his head were lit up with crimson and vivid orange, pulsing - Wally counted nine of them. Now, he was no expert on mind controlled androids, but he could make a connection when he saw one.

Kaldur’s voice projected into his mind, bringing him crashing back into reality. _“Do not let them escape!”_ he ordered.

Letting the energy build up inside him, Wally took off like a rocket. He sprinted toward Ten, jumping up with the momentum and striking out with his foot against the man’s chest. Ten was knocked off balance, the air forced from his lungs as he went stumbling back. For just that moment, the androids seemed to slow down, moving automatically and without coordination. Their Master was distracted. Ten recovered, snarling at Kid Flash as he made a lunge for him. Wally dodged out of the way at inhuman speed, his own plan forming - keep Ten distracted long enough for the others to take out the androids, and when the opportunity comes, get that device away from him.

It was a good plan. Easier said than done though. Wally obviously had the advantage of speed, but Ten was a hulking mass of muscle. It took him a while to land a hit, but when he did, it was hard - case in point when Wally was running around the side of him and was momentarily distracted by the android currently sneaking up on Zatanna, resulting in Ten throwing his arm out and catching Wally across the face. Wally skidded to the floor, rolling to a stop. His face was burning, his nose throbbing with every excelerated pulse of his heart. Probably not broken, but it still hurt like a bitch. By the time his vision cleared, Artemis had already fired an arrow to take out the android making a dive for Zatanna’s back.

Wally shook his head, forced himself to recover, and got up again. Ten was running toward him with a wild roar. Biding his time, he waited until Ten was closer before taking a running start and sliding down, legs striking out and take out Ten by the calves. Ten roared in pain, sent tumbling to the ground. Wally didn’t give him the chance to right himself, rising up and spinning on his heel and bringing his knee up. The  sound Ten’s nose made when it made contact with Wally’s knee was sickening to say the least, but Wally couldn’t bother feeling sorry - call it pay back.

Now that he was further down the aisle of storage rows, however, Wally had the opportunity to get a better look at the fight. Ten was down, and still screaming bloody fucking murder about what this brat “did to his fucking face”. The Team was still engaged with the rest of the Gang, Conner and Ace’s battle of brute strength a thunder above the rest. More importantly, Wally could see where Dick had gone too now, between the rows in a fight with Jack.

Dick was holding his own. While Jack was no master martial artist, he was bigger than Dick, and he was strong, and he was _enjoying this_. It was almost like he was toying with Dick, a manic fire in his eyes as he followed through with every blow. Dick blocked and evaded, striking out only when he was guaranteed a shot. He was playing it safe, focusing all of his diversion away from his abdomen. And Jack knew it. That much was indisputable when Jack went in for a while haymaker from above. Dick threw his arms up to block it, but with a wild grin, Jack undercut him, and landed a solid punch to his side.

The scream that tore from Dick was fucking horrific. 

Dick crumbled, doubling over on himself and falling to his knees. Jack didn’t let up. He knew Robin’s weak point now and he was exploiting it for all it was worth. Wally tried to run forward, feeling every ounce of blood drain from his body, Dick’s screaming echoing in his burning ears, but before he could move a hulking pair of arms grabbed him from behind. As Dick hit the ground, Jack reared back and kicked him, _hard_ , in the same spot. An absolute throat-filleting scream ripped from the fallen vigilante.

“ ** _Robin!_** ” Wally cried as he struggled against Ten’s grip. His vision went white, and then _red_ at the sound of his boyfriend in agony. On pure adrenaline, Wally managed to wrench his arm free of Ten’s hold. He elbowed him in the gut, just enough to knock the breath from him and loose his grip. The moment he tore himself free he took off. Faster than he was sure he’d ever pushed himself before, Wally ran at Jack and rammed into him, feeling a few ribs crack through the armour on his shoulders. Jack was sent skidding across the far end of the chamber, but Wally did not watch to see where he landed. He slowed down only to drop to the ground and scoop Dick up into his arms. Dick held onto his shoulder with a near-bruising grip, his face screwed up in pain and his teeth clenched.

Wally made a break for the door, but Ace had other plans. After its last attempt at throwing Conner across the room, it turned and planted itself in front of the door, leering down at them with a mechanical roar. Holding Dick tight to keep from jostling him too much, Wally hit the metaphorical breaks and screeched to a stop before he could slam into the massive android. Wally quickly changed course, narrowly avoiding Ace’s fist as it came smashing down into the concrete. Ace was was still advancing on him from behind, and even at his speed, he couldn’t safely evade him without putting Dick at risk. So, at the last moment, he made a stand. Stopping at a row of broken stage speakers, Wally carefully deposited Dick on the ground, and turned to face Ace with hellfire in his eyes. He slid his stance out, squared off his shoulders, arms out on either side as if he could shield Dick with his own body.

When Ace came at them, Wally met him head on, running full speed and jumping into the air, legs out. He threw his entire weight at him, planting his feet on the android’s chest and kicking out. It only served to knock him off balance. Ace stumbled, but recovered all too quickly, narrowed its attention down at Dick where he was leaning against the equipment, trying to pick himself up on shaking legs. Wally didn’t think, just raced at the android again, barreling into the back of its legs. It’s right knee buckled, nearly sending it tumbling to the floor, but finally Wally had its full attention. The only problem with that was that now Wally had its full attention.

Ace lashed out, making a wild grab for him. Wally evaded each wild swing, if only by a hair’s breadth each time. He was serving as a distraction, but he wasn’t going to get anywhere trying to take this thing down by himself. Conner was currently picking himself up out of yet another pile of rubble, and the others were more than occupied by the other crooks and androids, no matter how hard they tried to get to him to help. For the moment, it was just him. He just needed to keep this thing away from Dick. That was his one folly, however. Wally was plenty fast enough to provoke and evade Ace’s attacks, but he was too focused on Dick. Distracted for a moment as he watched Dick struggle to stand clutching his side, Wally didn’t move in time to avoid being grabbed by the hulking android. Ace’s gigantic hands came around his chest, pinning his arms to his sides and squeezing the air out of his lungs. Wally struggled and kicked, but it made no difference, and Ace was only crushing him tighter and tighter.

A grappling hook shot up over Ace’s head. Wally saw it just a second before it caught on the ceiling and went taught. Dick flew up above Ace, propelled by his line. His body was tight, folded in and tense and so unlike his usual, natural style. He manged, however, to flip over the android’s head, and in mid air, pull a Batarang from his belt, launching it with daring precision into the back of its neck. Ace let out another, grinding mechanical roar as the Batarang surged with electricity. Wally’s focus was still singularly on Dick. He was coming down with the grappling line, but he wasn’t going to land it properly - and as adrenaline and fear and therefore speed kicked in, the world slowed down. Wally could see clearly on Dick’s face that he knew it. The moment Ace’s hold on him went rigid and lax, Wally wrestled his way free, kicking out at the android’s shoulders both to knock it over and propel him up enough to rocket through the air and catch his falling boyfriend. Wally’s arms came up around Dick seconds before they hit the ground tumbling, breaking the momentum just enough that he was able to land skidding on his feet.

By the time he stopped, Ace was already falling to its knees and toppling over. The android hit the ground in a shower of sparks. Wally watched it like a damn hawk, waiting for it to get up. It didn’t. Dick had his arm wrapped around Wally’s shoulders, one hand clutched over his side, feet just barely touching the floor. The moment he tried to balance his own weight, the younger vigilante yelped, crumbling down to his knees in a heap. Wally snapped out of his adrenaline drained haze in an instant, sinking down with his boyfriend’s weight. Braced on his elbows and knees on the floor, Dick heaved for breath, sweat dripping from his forehead and soaking into his hair.

“Robin?” Wally rushed, his voice trembling as he placed his hand steady on Dick’s back. _“Babe?”_

“Kid Flash,” Kaldur’s voice cut through the panic, so absolute through the rest of the chaos that Wally forgot for a moment that he was speaking out loud rather than through the psychic link. “Get Robin out of here,” he commanded from not ten feet away, back facing them and swords drawn to cover their escape. “We will handle the rest. Just get him to safety.”

Wally did not need to be told twice. Gingerly pulling Dick into his arms, he rose to his feet, and with a nod to their leader, ran out of the chamber as fast as he could manage with the extra weight. Sprinting down the dark hallways and up the narrow stairwell, he came out in the bitter Atlantic Winter’s night. The cold, biting air on his skin was almost a welcome relief after the underground brawl. With the looming shadow of the Boardwalk Hall at his back, Wally tore down the beach toward the cloaked Bioship. He only stopped for a moment, sand spraying beneath his feet, to look around for any telltale signs of the invisible ship. Wally did not have to look long. As if recognizing an old friend, the Bioship uncloaked itself and without command lowered the plank for Wally to enter. The moment he ran up into the ship, he was overcome with soothing warmth. In the cockpit, the Bioshop morphed a long bench rather than individual seats, where he and Dick usually took their place.

Wally set Dick down on the bench, carefully lowering his weight and easing him against the backrest. He was shaking as he dropped to his knees in front of him. Dick was barely coherent. He was tense, writing in agony, holding his breath from the pain and only taking in air with tight gasps. Wally frantically began to undo the clasps on the front of his tunic. His fingers were trembling, slipping on each clasp until he finally managed to pry them apart. He tore open the tunic, pushing the athletic under suit up over Dick’s stomach, desperate to get at the bandages. All the while he was bordering hysterics, expecting to see blood, gore, the same sight he’d been haunted by since the night of the attack. But when Wally finally managed to get a look at the tape and gauze - it was clean. Relatively anyway, compared to what he’d feared. Dick definitely tore something, the wound was dehisced. There was some spotting, a bit of blood and discharge, nothing to scoff at - but nothing life threatening.

In one, flooding collapse of air in his lungs, Wally fell forward, pressing his forehead against Dick’s chest. His fingers were still curled in the edges of his tunic. The both of them were breathing hard. It was quiet inside the Bioship, with the ambient hum of the ship a white background noise. Winter winds blew against the sides of the ship. Dim violet and indigo light filled the room. They were safe. Wally felt that one fact wash over him like the Atlantic had risen up and crashed over his head.

“Please, don’t....” Dick’s scream-wrecked voice was a bare whisper, but it snapped Wally out of his daze in an instant. “Don’t say ‘I told you so’....”

The thought hadn’t occurred to him, honestly. Not until Dick said it. There was no gratification in this. Wally shook his head, rising up hold a hand against the back of Dick’s head and press a hard kiss to his temple. “Never,” he mumbled against his skull.

It crossed Wally’s mind, as he sat at the end of the bench and helped ease Dick down so he could lay with his head in his lap, that this was... actually sort of easy. Not the fighting, no shit. Just... this. Kissing Dick, holding him, letting himself be used as a pillow. He remembered thinking in the dark theatre room just a week ago, that at times he still didn’t know exactly how to tread through these rocky beginning stages of their relationship. He didn’t know how to do it without being awkward as fuck about it, anyway. This, however, just felt natural. He didn’t have to think at all. Wally just let Dick try to get comfortable on the seat, laying on his good side with his face pressed against Wally’s stomach. He tentatively carded his fingers through Dick’s hair, and when Dick seemed to take some measure of comfort in it, he rolled with it. Nothing complicated about that.

By the time he looked out the window, the rest of the Team was hauling the Royal Flush Gang out toward the ship. Jack was hauled over Conner’s shoulder, completely knocked out. Raquel had Ten trapped in a forcefield bubble, while Kaldur and M’gann escorted King and Queen. The ripped apart remnants of Ace were being lifted in pieces by M’gann and Zatanna. They walked out toward the Bioship, heads down against the harsh wind. When they were close enough to round the back of the ship and disappear from sight, Wally could just barely hear the holding cell in the back open up, their captives grumbling as they were forced inside. Moments later, the Team came into the cockpit, taking their seats and preparing to get the hell home. There was no embarrassment, no teasing at seeing Robin curled up on his side in pain with his head nuzzled in Wally’s lap.

M’gann knelt down beside the elongated seat, brows drawn up in sympathy at her friend’s pain. “How is he doing?”

Wally looked down at Dick, waiting for a moment to see if he’d reply himself. When he didn’t seem able to respond, Wally sighed and continued to brush the hair out of his face. “He’ll be fine,” he answered. “But the sooner we get back to Mount Justice, the better.”

M’gann nodded with a light smile, her gaze lingering on Robin before she stood up and took her seat at the helm. The Bioship rose gracefully into the air, higher and higher until Atlantic City was just a line of lights bordering the black, turbulent void of the ocean. Dick moaned, blindly eaching out for Wally’s other hand. With a glance around the cockpit, and a deep sense of ease, Wally took his hand with a gentle squeeze. Dick squeezed back. The Bioship chased down the line between the coast and the ocean, all the way back to Happy Harbour.

 

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

 

Wally pressed his back against the wall. Just beyond the Medical Bay doors, he could hear the tail end of Batman’s lecture to his re-injured partner. Bruce was absolutely reeming into him. Wally could just barely catch words and phrases, but it was enough to get the jist of how _stupid_ that was, and how _furious_ Bruce was that Dick lied his way into getting cleared, that he had half a mind to bench him for two more months on _principle_ , and how could he _trust_ Dick when he lied to him? He hit every sore point, but through it all, Wally didn’t hear a single word of argument come from Dick. Harsh as it was, they knew Bruce was right. Leaning his head back against the cool plaster, Wally stared up at the industrial ceiling of the Cave, just waiting for Bruce to finish up.

That said, he barely noticed when the voice inside simmered down to a lower, slightly calmer but no less strict tone. He barely noticed when the conversation stopped all together. The sound of footsteps heading toward the door finally shocked Wally back to reality. The last thing he wanted to face at the moment was Batman on a Warpath. In a snap second, Wally had run down the hall and around the corner, peering over the other side as the doors swung open. Bruce walked out, stopped, and let out a heavy sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose beneath his cowl. When he straightened up, it was with a sharp look down the hall toward Wally. Should’ve known he couldn’t hide from him. However, Bruce didn’t seem to be intent on taking his frustrations out on his adoptive son’s boyfriend that night. Turning sharply on his heel, he stalked off down the hall and disappeared around the opposite corner.

Wally deflated, tension from that brief encounter draining out his feet and into the floor. Finally, he walked back down the hall and stepped through the sliding doors into the Medical Bay. The lights were off, and the room was dark, save for the touch of moonlight from the disguised window looking down the mountainside. Dick was lying in a bed on the far side of the room, freshly bandaged and dressed in clean, grey-blue sweats. He still had his mask on.

“Hey,” Wally sighed as he walked across the room, hands in his hoodie pockets. He stopped at the foot of Dick’s bed, glancing his boyfriend up and down. He didn’t seem to be in as much pain as earlier, but it was clear he was exhausted. Wally attempted a smile. “Dare I ask how you’re feeling?”

Dick dropped his head. For a moment, Wally was afraid he’d pissed him off, and was preparing to grovel out an apology before Dick shook his head with a bare laugh. Raising his hand to his face, Dick slipped his mask off, lifting his bright blue gaze to Wally’s. He shifted over to one side of the bed with a light wince, not allowing Wally the time to tell him not to move before he jerked his head toward the empty space next to him.

Not about to pass up the silent request, Wally kicked off his sneakers and carefully climbed into the bed with Dick. It was a snug fit, but that seemed to be what Dick had in mind as he laid back against Wally, head on his boyfriend’s shoulder. Wally was slower to relax, unsure of where to put his arms until he settled one naturally over Dick’s chest, the other propping his head up so he could look down at him.

Dick inhaled fully and exhaled just the same, content and comfortable. “I’m sorry...” he murmured after a moment.

Wally bit his lip. “I know you were restless... maybe I was too hard on you about it, I-”

“No,” Dick shook his head. “You... you were right. I wasn’t ready. I just....”

Frown creasing at the centre of his brow, Wally prodded him on. “You just what?”

“I’m supposed to be _Robin_ ,” Dick lamented as he stared up at the moon’s glow on the ceiling. “I’m supposed to be better than this. Robin doesn’t let anything keep him down.”

“Robin’s only human,” Wally countered.

Dick’s jaw set in tight annoyance. “I _know_.”

Remaining patient through Dick’s snapped reply, Wally twirled a dark lock of his hair around his fingertip. “Then what’s the problem?” he asked as he let the strand fall back into place.

Dick counted a breath again, exhaling through his nose and letting the tension he was holding release with it. In a silent apology, he turned his head and snuggled just a little closer. “I was just sick of everyone treating me like I’m glass, I guess. I don’t want anyone to think of me differently after this. Just needed to get back out there, put this behind me.”

Something clicked in Wally’s mind. The pieces came together. Wally shifted up on the bed, leaning over Dick with his arm still comfortable under his head. “Dick... you know you have nothing to prove, right?” he asked. His words struck a chord with his boyfriend. Dick stared back up at him, eyes wide and lips parted. Wally swallowed as he searched for the words he needed. “You got hurt, Dick. You’re not invulnerable. You don’t have to pretend to be. But you are the _best_ of us, powers or not. I mean it,” he said with a smile slowly blooming. “And everyone who’s ever doubted that hasn’t lasted long against you. The Team needs you, but we need you when you’re ready, okay?”

For the longest time, Dick said nothing. The two of them were caught in a sort of limbo, and they were fine with that. At ease with it. Dick seemed to sink deeper into the soft bed, like he wasn’t fighting it any longer. Exhausted as he was, he managed to spare a smile to mirror his boyfriend’s. He laughed quietly. “Huh... guess that makes _me_ the ace in the hand here, doesn’t it?”

Wally sputtered. He nearly snorted with the sheer amount of effort it took not to laugh. Dropping back down onto the bed with a light creak and bounce on the mattress, Wally pushed his face against Dick’s neck. “That was _bad_ ,” he snickered.

Dick was quick to correct him. “That was hilarious.”

Pulling his head back, Wally shook his head, and try as he might just couldn’t wipe that grin off his face. Again, there was that moment of mutual limbo, before Wally went for the kiss. His heart still fluttered and raced like mad every time he kissed Dick. He wondered vaguely if that would ever go away. He almost didn’t want it to.  “Get some sleep, babe,” he murmured against his lips.

Dick, for once, complied without putting up a fight. Wally settled into the mattress again, shifting until Dick could lay comfortably against him. The Boy Wonder was out within minutes, sleeping on Wally like it was second nature at this point. This time, Wally wasn’t too far behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic was the most wonderful accident. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did! Let me know in the comments. Until next time!
> 
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